Headlines

Russian farming conglomerate Rusagro has filed a bankruptcy claim against Razgulay , according to materials of the Moscow Arbitration Court, Reuters reported. Rusagro, a fast-growing pork and sugar producer, confirmed submitting the claim, saying it was a technical move. Rusagro acquired all existing debt, as well as around 20 percent of shares of the Razgulay Group from Razgulay creditor VEB last year. Razgulay has subsequently put its assets up for sale and Rusagro agreed to buy three sugar-processing plants and one for buckwheat from the firm.

UK banks' subordinated debt has tumbled as the threat of the country leaving the European Union later this month escalates, Reuters reported. Polls of polls on Sunday showed the Leave and Remain camps split down the middle at 50/50, shaking up those that have been counting on the UK staying in the EU. Additional Tier 1 bonds have dropped up to three points in the last week, while Tier 2 debt has also taken a knock.

A local court on Tuesday approved a filing by financially shaky STX Offshore & Shipbuilding to be put under a court-led restructuring scheme, paving the way for the shipyard to avert liquidation, The Korea Times reported. Last month, STX Shipbuilding, once the country's No. 4 shipbuilder, filed for receivership to stay afloat as its creditors decided to end a similar rehabilitation program for the shipbuilder. The shipbuilder has been under the control of its creditors since April 2013 amid a protracted slump in the shipbuilding sector.

Emerging nations’ drive to catch up with the incomes of the developed world has been set back decades by the slowdown in their economies and the impact of the commodities slump, according to World Bank research, the Financial Times reported. The bank on Tuesday downgraded its global growth forecast becasue of what it said was a much worse than expected performance by commodity-exporting countries.

South Africa's economy looked set on Tuesday for its first quarterly contraction in a year after measures of business sentiment tumbled, dragged down by shrinking consumer spending that has sunk hopes of a retail-led recovery, Reuters reported. Rising inflation due to severe drought and a weakening currency have triggered a steep rise in lending rates over the past two years, strangling sentiment among businesses and consumers in Africa's most industrialised economy.

From street protests and collapsing governments to eleventh-hour deals and financial lifelines, Greece has gotten used to lurching from crisis to crisis during its endless economic meltdown, Bloomberg News reported. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is relying on it being different this time after finance ministers in the euro region agreed to disburse more funds and the European Central Bank on Thursday said it would be willing to let banks increase their access to its cheaper credit.

Saudi Arabia unveiled plans to more than triple its nonoil revenue by 2020 while cutting state handouts, in a broad bid to reshape the kingdom’s economy amid falling energy prices, The Wall Street Journal reported. The initiative, called the National Transformation Program, offers details on how the ruling monarchy plans to achieve long-term economic change in an era of cheap oil. The overall target is ambitious: Riyadh expects nonoil revenue to more than triple by 2020 to 530 billion Saudi riyals ($141.33 billion).

Sterling dropped to a three-week low versus the dollar yesterday after polls showed that Britons favoured quitting the European Union, the Irish Times reported. That revived concerns that the June 23rd referendum may throw global markets into turmoil and undermine confidence in the EU. Meanwhile, 93 per cent of Irish chief executives believe a British exit from the EU is the top threat for businesses here, according to a survey by PwC.

A senior Malaysian journalist who quit his job at a leading newspaper said Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government has cracked down on freedom of speech as it tries to limit the fallout from a graft scandal surrounding a state investment fund, The Wall Street Journal reported. Mustapha Kamil, the former group editor of the English-language New Straits Times, which is controlled by Mr. Najib’s ruling party, took a rare public stance by saying that an increasingly “authoritarian” stand by the government toward media was the reason he quit the newspaper in April.

Nigerian oil firm Oando said on Monday it has secured a 94.6 billion naira ($475 mln) loan facility from 10 domestic banks under plans to restructure its finances and return to profitability this year, Reuters reported. The financing led by Access Bank, includes Diamond Bank, Ecobank, FCMB, Fidelity Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, UBA , Union Bank and Zenith Bank. The facility is a five-year term loan, paying Nigerian interbank rate plus 2 percentage points with a three-year moratorium on principal.